Argo wins, Hobbit loses out at Baftas

The Good - Helen Mirren wore a flowing silver embroidered gown by Nicholas Oakwell, but it was her pink rinse that drew the most attention.

THE BAD: Jennifer Lawrence sported harshly slicked-back hair and wore her go-to designer Dior, but, unusually walked down the red carpet in what looked like a man's blazer. We applaud the fact she covered up in the freezing temperature, but the jacket choice is perplexing.

The Good - Nominee Marion Cotillard wore a stunning bright yellow haute couture dress by Dior, and hammed it up for the cameras, perhaps pretending that her dress was in the middle of a malfunction (much like her fellow Dior-devotee Jennifer Lawrence at the SAGs).

The Mixed - British singer-songwriter Paloma Faith wore a beautiful sparkling Nicholas Kirkwood gown, but all we could look at was her balloon animal of a hairdo (it gives us a headache just looking at it). But then, she's quirky, and good on her for it.

The 'Meh' - Bafta winner Anne Hathaway chose Burberry for the night: her pixie crop and flawless make-up wins points, and we applaud her for pulling off a T-shirt neckline, but that doesn't change the fact that we're bored.

The 'Meh' - Jennifer Garner wore a Roland Mouret ensemble while out to support her husband Ben Affleck. On the runway, this architectural top was paired with a jade green pencil skirt and looked very office-appropriate. That's right, like something you'd wear to the office. We like the dark nails though.

The 'Meh' - Gemma Arterton's messy-chic hair is gorgeous, and her make-up artist's done a good job as her cheekbones look like they'd cut through diamonds, but this Celia Kritharioti gown is shapeless, and the nude stripes remind us of a figure-skater's leotard.

The Bad - This isn't hurt our eyes bad, in fact, Sarah Jessica Parker's Elie Saab look is actually quite chic. But, at the end of the day this is a black jumpsuit with very little adornment, and it's a red carpet event. Maybe she helped out as a cater waiter pre-ceremony? Plus, the diamond necklace doesn't work with the outfit's high neckline.

The Not Quite - Helen McCrory, aka Narcissa Malfoy, wore a 1963 Givenchy haute couture gown. And while we dig the vintage, sustainable sensibility, we think this dress is a little too twee for the normally gothic-glam Helen. Her hubbie Damian Lewis is rocking his Burberry, but. We love a man in velvet!

The Not Quite - Andrea Riseborough's Vivienne Westwood gown was one of the many looks where the hemline fell victim to the London rain. The gown's gorgeous, but we're not a fan of the black and yellow colour combination. This is a case of a good dress meets bad styling.

The Good - Amy Adams opted for an uncharacteristically vampish Elie Saab Couture gown. And while we think the look would have been more successful with softer hair, there's no denying this Chantilly lace piece is a winner.

While Iran-hostage drama Argo continued its journey from awards-season outsider to favourite at the Baftas, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey failed to bag one of the three trophies it was nominated for.

The first film of Sir Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy was nominated for best special visual effects, best sound, and best make-up and hair at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Life of Pi took out the best special effects, while musical epic Les Miserables was judged to have the best sound, make-up and hair.

Ben Affleck was named best director for the based-on-reality story of a longshot plan to rescue a group of American diplomats from Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the film also took the editing trophy.

Affleck, who has made a remarkable journey from little-regarded actor to award-winning director, dedicated his directing prize for "anyone out there who's trying to get their second act."

George Clooney, a producer of Argo, quipped: "I don't know what you're going to do for a third act."

Daniel Day-Lewis won his universally expected best-actor trophy for Lincoln - the only prize out of 10 nominations for Steven Spielberg's historical biopic.

Emmanuelle Riva, the 85-year-old French film legend, was named best actress for Michael Haneke's poignant old-age portrait Amour.

Made-in-Britain French revolutionary musical Les Miserables won four prizes including best supporting actress for Anne Hathaway. James Bond adventure Skyfall spied some elusive awards recognition, winning trophies for music and best British film.

The British awards, known as Baftas, are increasingly glamorous - despite a well-earned reputation for dismal weather - and ever-more scrutinized as an indicator of likely success at the Hollywood Oscars. In recent years they have prefigured Academy Awards triumph for word-of-mouth hits including Slumdog Millionaire, The King's Speech and The Artist.

This year they spread the honours widely, with multiple trophies for Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook, Amour and Django Unchained, as well as Argo.

This season's movie with momentum is crowd-pleaser Argo, which has been building steam with big prizes at ceremonies such as the Golden Globes, the Producers Guild and the Directors Guild of America Awards.

It is now considered a front-runner for the best picture award at the Oscars on February 25, even though Affleck was not nominated for best director.

Argo marks a change for Affleck, whose first two features as director - Gone Baby Gone and The Town - were set in his native Boston. In Argo he stars as Tony Mendez, a CIA agent who poses as a sci-fi filmmaker in a risky plot to rescue Americans in Tehran.

"I wanted to get as far away from Boston as I could," Affleck said. "I ended up in Iran."

Skyfall, the highest-grossing film in the Bond series' 50-year history, was named best British film - rare awards-season recognition for an action movie. Thomas Newman's score also won the best-music prize.

Director Sam Mendes said he was accepting the trophy on behalf of the "1,292 people" who worked on Skyfall.

"We all had high expectations for this film and it's fair to say all of them have been exceeded," Mendes said. "Here's to the next 50 years."

The early prizes were shared widely, with Les Mis taking trophies for sound and makeup/hair and Life of Pi receiving the honour for cinematography.

Quentin Tarantino picked up the original screenplay award for Django Unchained, and Christoph Waltz was named best supporting actor for playing a loquacious bounty hunter in Tarantino's slave-revenge thriller.

Waltz said his victory was entirely due to Tarantino - "you silver-penned devil, you."

Hathaway said she was "overjoyed" for being named best supporting actress for her brief but powerhouse performance in Les Miserables. She said she was so taken aback that "I almost walked past George Clooney without hugging him."

Writer-director David O. Russell won the adapted screenplay prize for Silver Linings Playbook, a comedy about characters confronting mental illness.

Before the ceremony, stars including Clooney, Affleck, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper braved a chilly rain that turned to snow outside the Royal Opera House.

For once it was hair, even more than frocks, that drew attention - though Marion Cotillard defied the dull weather in a canary-yellow gown. Beards were de rigour among male stars including Clooney, Affleck and Cooper, while Helen Mirren turned heads with a pink 'do, sported in honour of breast cancer awareness.

The ceremony also saw director Alan Parker receive a Bafta Fellowship, the academy's highest honour, for a career that includes Midnight Express, Fame and Mississippi Burning.